It is often thought that body image is a contemporary discourse that raises issues of an ethical nature in Australia today. According to Ogden (2003, p.71) “historical analyses of images of women have reported that the preferred women's body has become consistently smaller over the past century”. In Australia, eating disorders such as ‘obesity’ are predominant issues as the Australian Government has recognised obesity as an epidemic and social problem, declaring it to be a National Research Priority (Olsen et al., 2009). This is perhaps due to the increase in health related concerns relating to ‘body image’ as according to the National Survey of Young Australians conducted by Mission Australia (2007), body image is one of the main issues of concern to young Australians of both genders. In addition to this, “The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) state that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, with a death rate higher than that of major depression” (Australian Medical Association, 2009). However, it is also important to note that the media such as magazines and television and also current weight loss methods such as fad diets and excessive dieting raise a series of issues of an ethical nature around the notion of ‘body image’. The purpose of this essay is to therefore explore, from a consequentialist perspective and a non-consequentialist perspective, the way in which the media and current weight loss methods raise ethical issues around the notion of ‘body image’ and the current solutions aimed to combat this. This will be achieved through the examination of a range of phenomena such as the media in the form of magazines and television, current weight loss methods such as fad diets and excessive dieting and also various current solutions by the Australian Government and Australian Media aimed at combating the issue of body image in Australia.
The issue of ‘body image’ portrayed in the media, particularly in magazines, is often centered upon the ‘size zero phenomenon’. According to Frost (2001), it is often thought that “the media portrayal of celebrities might be linked to the body dissatisfaction shown by young women with their weight and the alleged rise in eating disorders among young women. This is perhaps due to the fact that the media portrays unrealistic images of what women should look like and this puts pressure on women to aspire to be the same regardless of what it takes (Wykes and Gunter, 2006). This suggests a consequentialist theory approach to the issue of body image as it can be said that the majority of research to date on body image has focused upon the negative consequences of the media’s portrayal of body image. For example, according to Adios Barbie (as cited in Phillips, 2007), before American television programming was introduced in early 1990's, in Fiji, fat was seen as a social necessity as it meant one was fertile and prosperous, “However within three years, the number of women with eating disorders had increased by an astonishing five times as much of the disordered eating was centred on bulimia, as vomiting was seen as the “faster” way to get rid of the extra weight”. This highlights a consequentialist theory approach to the issue of body image as it can be said that the media can greatly impact upon women in regards to body image as it can change their cultural and social norms. In addition to this, it can also be said that that a lack of body weight can result in many health problems and deficiencies, which could reflect a consequentialist perspective. For example, according to Edut (2003), it is often believed that having a certain amount of body fat is vital to function optimally in order for women to menstruate so they can be fertile or even produce milk to nourish their baby. This highlights the danger of the media’s unhealthy portrayal of ‘body image’ as it gives insight into the negative effects a lack of body weight in women can cause. Thus, it can be said that the portrayal of body image in the media is a negative one as its influence upon people, particularly women, can led to many health problems and deficiencies.
Moreover, it can also be said that weight loss methods such as fad diets and excessive dieting also raise ethical issues around the notion of ‘body image’. It is often thought that “Australians spend up to one million dollars a day on fad diets that have little effect on their weight” (State Government of Victoria, 2012, p.1). This is due to the fact that a lot of people, particularly women, diet, due to “their perception of what counts as the ideal body within their own social and cultural setting” rather than because they are actually overweight or want to be healthy (Cash, 2004, p.1). This suggests a non-consequentialist theory approach to the issue of body image as it can be said that perhaps most people only focus on the end result, losing weight and being thin like the models in magazines, rather than other factors such as the effects of weight loss methods. According to the Virtual Medical Centre (2012) and from a consequentialist theory approach to the issue of body image, it can be said that “fad diets make unrealistic weight loss promises as they claim to produce very rapid weight loss with minimal effort on the part of the dieter”. This suggests that perhaps weight loss methods such as fad diets are unhealthy as they trick the individual into believing that they will lose weight fast, which may have a negative emotional and psychological impact upon the individual if they do not achieve this. In addition to this, it is also important to note that dieting, while studies have shown that it can have positive effects upon people, it can lead to weight loss, therefore this non-consequentialist theory approach can also have many negative effects. For example, excessive dieting can lead to “eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating and to other mental health issues such as depression or anxiety” (State Government of Victoria, 2012, p.1). Moreover, according to the Australian Medical Association (2009, p.1) and a consequentialist theory approach, it can be said that anorexia and bulimia can lead to a variety of specific physical health problems such as “impairment of bone mineral acquisition leading to osteoporosis, fertility problems, kidney dysfunction, cardiac irregularities and stunting of height or growth.” This suggests that eating disorders, which can be the result of excessive dieting, can be detrimental to both an individual’s psychological and mental health. It also highlights the danger of dieting if taken too far and shows how weight loss methods can have negative effects on people. Hence, it can be said that current weight loss methods such as fad diets and excessive dieting in terms of their effectiveness, raise ethical issues around the notion of ‘body image’.
Lastly, it is often thought that despite the media’s unhealthy portrayal of ‘body image’ and also the negative effects current weight loss methods can have on people, there has been recent movement towards promoting a healthy ‘body image’ and reducing the occurrence of eating disorders in Australia. This suggests a non-consequentialist theory approach to the issue of body image as recent focus has shifted from consequences of unhealthy body image to the intention of reducing this through various initiatives. For example, according to ActNow (2008, p.1) “in 2009, the Rudd government pledged $500,000 to The Butterfly Foundation for the institution of a National Eating Disorders Collaboration. This involved specialists, media experts, and leading organisations in mental and public health working together in order develop a national approach to combating eating disorders.” In addition to this, the Positive Body Image Awards is another initiative the Government has taken that could be considered as a non-consequentialist theory approach. It has been established in order to “help build young people’s resilience to negative body image pressures and promote leadership and positive cultural change in the fashion, media and advertising industries” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2012, p.1). This highlights how the Government is addressing the issue of body image in Australia and taking preventative measures to help prevent eating disorders and also promote a more positive body image. The Australian Government has also created “body image friendly schools”, which reflects a non-consequentialist theory approach, such as the introduction of the Fresh Tastes School Canteen Strategy Toolkit in NSW (NSW Department of Health & NSW Department of Education and Training, 2004) aimed at teaching children to make healthier food choices and also the ‘No Body’s Perfect’ (Unit 1 and 2) section as part of the NSW PDHPE high school curriculum Years 7-10. According to the NSW Department of Education and Training (2011), “This resource provides teachers with a series of teaching and learning activities which they can incorporate into their PDHPE program” in order to teach about acceptance in terms of body image and gender. This also highlights the Government’s efforts in addressing the issue of body image in Australia and their school based approach in order to educate both children and adolescents about body image from a young age. Moreover, it can also be said that Australian Magazines such as Dolly and Girlfriend are also at the forefront of confronting body image issues. According to McCabe (2012), magazines are now taking a non-consequentialist approach to the issue of body image as when their intentions are to “search for a model, they have to be certain ages and they’re very conscious of the thinness because the eating disorder issues are immense.” This suggests that the Australian media today is trying to combat the issue surrounding body image such as eating disorders by promoting a healthier and positive take on body image. State Governments have also been “committed to establishing a media code of conduct on body image and a forum for young people to de-mystify how digital imaging is used to enhance body shapes and sizes” (Australian Education Union, 2012, p.1). Thus, it can be said that the Australian Government and Australian Media efforts regarding body image, through trying to promote a healthy ‘body image’ and reduce the occurrence of eating disorders in Australia have been significant.
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